For all those theologians who wonder why it may be important for them to engage the natural sciences this year's Nobel Prize in Physics might offer important insights. It was awarded to Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess for their discovery that the universe is indeed expanding at an increasing speed.
The astronomers used a particular type of supernovae as a measuring device for distances in space. Type 1a supernovae are exploding white dwarfs that are limited in mass to about 1.38 solar masses. Because of this consistency their peak luminosity is practically always the same. Hence, any variation that one sees in luminosity is a function of the distance of the supernovae from Earth, not unlike a candle is less bright at a distance of ten meters than it would be if it were right next to you on your desk.
Now, astronomers cannot only determine the distance of a type 1a supernova accurately, but using the doppler shift also the rate at which it moves away from the Earth. Just like a sound increases in pitch when it moves towards you and decreases in pitch when it moves away (think of a car horn passing you), light waves have shorter wavelengths moving towards you and longer wavelengths when moving away. Hence, light that is moving away from you is shifted towards the red end of the spectrum. (This is determined using spectroscopy. When you analyze a light source through a prism, light of different wavelengths will be refracted differently and you get a "rainbow" ranging from blue shortwave light to red longwave light. in fact, a rainbow is just that, the dispersion of visible light into its component wavelengths.) Analyzing the light of a type 1a supernova allows you to determine whether and how much it is redshifted.
In fact, that the light from an exploding star is redshifted is a given. In the 1920s, American astronomer Edwin Hubble was the first to observe something that followed from the general theory of relativity, namely that the universe is expanding. (The theoretical basis for this work was actually laid by George Lemaitre, a Belgian Catholic priest.) All galaxies observed show a redshift, which means that they are all moving away from the Earth. This implies that all galaxies are moving away from each other and that at one point all of the universe was basically localized in one spot. Hubble concluded, therefore, that: (1) all objects observed in deep space show a doppler shift relative velocity to earth and each other, and (2) this doppler shift measured velocity of galaxies receding from Earth is proportional to their distance from Earth (V=Ho D, where V is the observed velocity of the galaxy away from Earth, H is the Hubble constant, and D is the distance of the galaxy).
Until recently, scientists believed that the rate of the expansion is constant, but what the Nobel astronomers found out was that it is actually increasing. After analysis of their data the teams found out that not only were type 1a supernovae at enormous distances dimmer than expected, they also moved away from us with increasing speed. Hence, the expansion of the universe is accelerated. The cause of this acceleration is unknown, but theories around dark energy pushing things apart at ever faster rates offer one possible solution.
Now, why would any of that be interesting to theologians? Well, aside from the obvious - that theologians who ignore the insights from the natural sciences will misconstrue central doctrines such as creation, humanity, but also God - it raises an interesting question regarding the future of the universe and imbedded in that the theodicy question.
Suffering is an essential aspect of all evolution. Disease, pain, death, predation - they all are hallmarks of life in a universe that was created by an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God. In and of itself, it seems odd that such a loving and good God would create life that is possible only in the context of suffering. But here now we learn that the universe is ever expanding - at an increasing rate - and that eventually the distances between galaxies, stars, planets, yes, at one point even atoms and subatomic particles will be too big to allow for anything remotely representing life. As of now, the physical theories suggest that at one point in the future the universe will be a big, cold space without any stars, planets or life. What is the meaning of such a universe to an all-loving God? And what is the role of life evolving self-consciousness and the capacity to be in relationship with this God if at the end there is no life left?
These are challenging questions for believers. in fact, they are more challenging than all the bad philosophy of the new atheists combined. These are questions theologians cannot ignore, but which they instead have to engage and ponder. After all, theology is the reflection on faith. So, in light of such amazing insights, let's reflect!
Here a video that explains the Nobel prize research much better than I can.
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